I am hoping folks can give me their opinions on lessons for my wife. We are headed to Colorado in March for a week and I want her to have the best experience possible. I haven't ridden in about 10 years but I was an intermediate when I quit so I feel confident I will pick it right back up. She has been once but was basically dumped at the top of a green run by her friends and didn't have the best experience. She is anxious and very ready to give it another try. We are headed to Breckenridge and they offer two types of group lessons, regular group and 4 person group. I am leaning towards her taking a one day four person group as opposed to 2 days with a larger group for about the same cost. My take on it is she will get better instruction with the smaller group and it will only leave us separated for the first day of our trip. I think that once she is shown the basics I can help her progress. We have also been going through Snowolf's videos and she is picking up on the concepts which I think will be cemented by a lesson. What is everyone's opinion on large vs. small group lessons? Thanks!

forestfalcon

02-01-2012 09:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rfrich74
(Post 477102)

I am hoping folks can give me their opinions on lessons for my wife. We are headed to Colorado in March for a week and I want her to have the best experience possible. I haven't ridden in about 10 years but I was an intermediate when I quit so I feel confident I will pick it right back up. She has been once but was basically dumped at the top of a green run by her friends and didn't have the best experience. She is anxious and very ready to give it another try. We are headed to Breckenridge and they offer two types of group lessons, regular group and 4 person group. I am leaning towards her taking a one day four person group as opposed to 2 days with a larger group for about the same cost. My take on it is she will get better instruction with the smaller group and it will only leave us separated for the first day of our trip. I think that once she is shown the basics I can help her progress. We have also been going through Snowolf's videos and she is picking up on the concepts which I think will be cemented by a lesson. What is everyone's opinion on large vs. small group lessons? Thanks!

I think it's kind of a no-brainer. I took the 4 person lesson at Breck a few years ago, and I liked it a lot. It really is important to have small class sizes, if not a private lesson, not only so that the instructor can pay attention to each individual's technique, but so your wife isn't sitting on the hill, waiting for 10 other people to demonstrate their skill before it's her turn.

photobetty

02-01-2012 09:13 AM

Absolutely go for the smaller group if those are the two choices. I personally prefer private lessons, but if that's not an option, the smaller group will allow her to receive more attention than the regular group lesson. A small group lesson may even give her the opportunity to learn from other people's successes and/or mistakes. I like the one-day vs. two days of lessons, too, because I'm someone that needs time on my own to process everything and practice what I've learned before I get more instruction. Have a great time!

rfrich74

02-01-2012 09:20 AM

Thanks for the quick replies! I wish I could stomach the $475 they charge for a half day private lesson but that is double the 4 person group cost for a full day and I'm not sure the benefit would outweigh the cost. Maybe you guys could point out something about the private lesson that would make it that much more beneficial?

stevetim

02-01-2012 09:24 AM

Would you consider taking her to Keystone?

Not hating on Breck, but KS has a better setup for beginners.

Group lessons in some ways are better, too. She can watch other people make mistakes and hear the instructor's comments instead of being the one to eat it every time.

forestfalcon

02-01-2012 09:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rfrich74
(Post 477116)

Thanks for the quick replies! I wish I could stomach the $475 they charge for a half day private lesson but that is double the 4 person group cost for a full day and I'm not sure the benefit would outweigh the cost. Maybe you guys could point out something about the private lesson that would make it that much more beneficial?

I wouldn't shell out $475 for a private lesson, but that's me. She'll be fine with the 4 person, as another posted, she can watch others at the same time. I'm more of a visual learner, so it helped me to see where others were/weren't doing well, and translating in my own head. I would do the 1 day, since she'll be tired after that first day. I did the two day lessons, and broke my arm the second day... not saying at all that this would happen, but you are more likely to get hurt if you're worn out and tired... plus, the learning curve gets tougher. All my own opinion, so take it with a grain of salt. :)

ceridwen

02-01-2012 11:45 AM

I agree with others that the smaller group lesson is worth it. As someone who has done both group and private lessons, I also really loved the group lessons (never in a group of more than 4-5) for the beginner stages, but have found private lessons better for fine-tuning now that I've hit a more intermediate level. A 2 hour private lesson is only $99 bucks where I ride though, so it's easier to justify the cost. For the early stages of riding, I liked having other people to watch and found it less tiring to do group lessons because there are built in chances to rest while you watch other people try. Even though I would not describe myself as much of a visual learner I still found I got a lot out of watching other people around my own skill level try the same things I was attempting. As a real beginner, I don't think there is an advantage to doing private lessons over small group lessons unless she's exceptionally shy (my stepsister won't even try with other kids there to watch her fail) or really athletic with a lot of board-sport type experience (in which case she might outpace the group).

sb60

02-01-2012 12:11 PM

I've heard good things about Keystone too. Probably more than one lesson would be good. Copper has women's Wednesdays. Women instructors, women's groups. Unless there are extra people when you are there she will probably get a private because there is only one snowboard group this year and it's more advanced.